Frosty

For a mobile stand the stacked lumber makes a nice flat square bottom so it's much easier to use a hand truck to move it. A light duty ratchet strap or even a length of line to secure the anvil back to the hand truck makes it a lot safer. What I have heartburn with when moving my anvils is they don't lay well against my hand truck so I have to strap them on or they tend to shift if I hit a bump. If I'm moving things in the shop I use an engine hoist I got at a yard sale some years ago. Frosty The Lucky.

Yes. Drop it so it lands on the scored line on something solid like another piece of rail. Or lay it over said piece of rail or whatever and give it a hearty smack on the overhanging end. Heck, maybe going caveman on it with a large rock will do. Hit it on the overhanging end and support it on the scored line, regardless. Frosty The Lucky.

Welcome aboard Brian, glad to have you. Putting your general location in the header is a big help, otherwise you'll never know who in the IFI gang lives within visiting distance. Last I checked IFI is the largest blacksmithing site on earth with knowledge, experience and characters to match. It's a good place to hang out and talk if nothing else. Last note, we LOVE pics, all kinds but work, tool, shop, progress, etc. pics are really popular. Frosty The Lucky.

As Thomas says the burner is the most spendy and or difficult to build. You can find refractory liner material at a number of places, try a HVAC, furnace, etc. supplier or maintenance company, if they don't retail it, they'll know who does. I put a ceramic supplier at the bottom of the list, they'll have or order it but they tend to cost a lot more. Fire brick, hard or soft, doesn't much like thermal shock, they'll take the heat but it's heating and cooling that break them up. Using 3,000f split hard brick for the floor holds up well, kiln shelf does as well but is more expensive. Laying an extra inch of kaowool, etc. under the floor will reduce the volume of your forge and bring it's temp up. Coating the interior with a product like ITC-100 is expensive but pays for itself by making the liner much more resistant to flux and making it more efficient. Frosty The Lucky.

Pete: You and yours have my prayers. God rest your sister and comfort her kids kin and friends. Frosty The Lucky.

Bob: Rob Gunter's one of the guys I'd have to refer to. The E rod you posted the data sheet for is closer to what I'd look for but given a choice I'd go with what other guys KNOW works. I'm pretty sure someone here will mail you a few lbs. of the right rod. We back each other up you know. If you use a hard facing rod it's going to be a bugger to grind as it's designed to resist abrasion, think blue wheels that cost enough to make shipping a few lbs. from the States a bargain. Frosty The Lucky.

Very nice and long enough for the firepit. Frosty The Lucky.

Try the propane supplier, most carry basics in the showroom. Suburban Propane is a Seattle outfit I believe, that's where I get mine and heck they deliver here. Failing that, most heating/plumbing suppliers carry propane hose and regulators, plumbers and HVAC guys do a lot of soldering and don't use Bernzomatic type torches. Frosty The Lucky.

The data sheet says you need to run a butter pass with a build up rod if hard facing high carbon steel. It's also an abrasive particle resistant facing rod, doesn't say anything about impact resistance. I'd be looking for rod used for impact resistant facing say in rock crushers. Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks Mark, Your Hay Budden looks good so I think it's a successful rod. I like build up rod myself but I keep hearing from guys who use hard facing rod made for high impact. If Eric decides to go ahead on his anvil I'll have to make some calls and ask guys online. Build up and hard facing rods change almost continuously so there probably are perfect rods for anvils. I'm thinking rock crusher rod but just don't know anymore. Frosty The Lucky.

Don't show idiots how to plug it in. <grin> Frosty The Lucky.

Is that an old Franklin fireplace? Very cool, finally something they're good for. Frosty The Lucky.

Of course opening a can of beer is beneath an opener like this or any other, if it was above the opener you'd spill beer! Frosty The Lucky.

The local Safeway has excellent two wheel carts for taking groceries to your car. Two large bicycle like wheels and two small casters on front. I've been lusting after one or two for my shop. It'd be perfect for my torch tanks. Stil, I picked up an ld defunct wheel chair at a garage sale a while back that's slated to become a torch cart. Moving anvils isn't hard at all, that's what teenagers are for aren't they? Frosty The Lucky.

Is it practical!?! You saw it didn't you? SHEESH! Thanks for the link George, fun show, I'll have to catch more. Frosty The Lucky.

Get the strongest and fasted 2 stage you can afford. It's better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Frosty The Lucky.

I have radio earmuffs but the shop seems to be an excellent EM shield, I ran a magnetic antenna high on a wall and CAN get FM. Anyway, I listen to oldy moldy rock, No rap, some blues and NPR has me doing shop work so I can hear Prairie Home Companion. Largely, the forge drowns most everything out. I've listened to some: Within Temptation, Heather (something), Dragon Force and other pretty cool stuff but my MP3 is only good for a few songs and finding a place to download online without paying a bunch is a hassle, that and I'm really not into dodging the artist's making an honest living. So. . . Frosty The Lucky.

Does he use one as an anvil? The estate sale ought to be quite the blacksmith's event. I couldn't read the weight on the big Soderfors but . . . <sigh> At least this isn't a look at a load going to Chinese steal mill. Frosty The Lucky.

That was the first Art On Fire iron pour and she was the lead, calling the shots. I just happened to be in the right spot at the "right" time. Pat our main caster here in the valley and the sectary treasurer of the Association of Alaskan Blacksmiths FWD'd the pic to her and she just shrugged saying pics like it happened all the time. I should've put a warning on it to make sure folk weren't drinking milk when they looked, or maybe made sure they WERE. Glad you got a laugh, the audience sure did when I pointed it out to them. Folk started shifting around to get the angle while they were pouring. It's not like it's that interesting to watch a well coordinated team pouring, molten metal is neatO but after a while. . . Frosty The Lucky.

Banter is how friends let each other know they're loved. Ian and I hit it off pretty quickly. The only reason I'm in a loop is I got knocked there by that stupid birch! Frosty The Lucky.

Nicely done but it's going to be really hard on your hand. You might do scrimshaw instead. It can be strikingly visual and it's smooth as a baby's butt. Frosty The Lucky.

Zircopax/kaolin forge wash report. Last Saturday a friend and I demoed at a local event keeping the forge running at high orange low yellow for about 9 hrs. That side is nicely fired and tough as nails hard. It kept good color on lower than average psi so we didn't use more than about 3 gallons of propane. I'm thinking it's a success though I haven't welded in it yet. I'll let you know how that goes when I do. I try not to weld at demos, too much flying hot stuff for audiences and I don't have a screen at the moment. Frosty The Lucky.

Good deal Harris! Fagot welding wide stock is a good place to use a turning(rounding) hammer so initial impact is in the center so any inclusions are driven out of the joint. You also might get better fusion at lower psi and longer soak time. The psi settings is just a thought. I've found you can be melting the outside of a stack before the inside is hot enough to fuse so lower psi and longer soak time is the way to go in that situation. Frosty The Lucky.

Yeah, that's a common thing to see in movies. the producers must think blacksmiths had those weird looking "hammers" so they have to shoot them using one. the one I've seen most is a top swage being used upside down as a hammer. Heck, I used to go to museums in various cities and towns here in Alaska and I don't know how many times I've sought out the curator so I could arrange the "blacksmith shop" to reflect a real shop. Most had a mannequin holding a top swage upside down as a hammer. <sigh> At least the curators of museums were receptive to having someone with a little experience correct things. Frosty The Lucky.

Good PR Frogman! I like the little knob end but think maybe a little hook thingy to open pop tops might be nice. Don't want people thinking you're prejudiced against cans do you? I need to come up with a touch mark I guess. Hmmmm. Frosty The Lucky.